In 2025, federal and many state policy agendas focused on lower drug prices, DTC advertising, tariffs and other topics that put a spotlight on pharmaceutical companies. This scrutiny further challenged the industry’s trust and reputation among key audiences. The Edelman Trust Barometer noted that trust in pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. is declining; a trend compounded by an 18-point drop in Americans’ trust in the media to accurately report on healthcare. Taken together, this environment reinforced the importance of AstraZeneca continuing to build and protect its reputation, paving the way for participation in policy dialogues, attracting partners and building long-term relationships with patients.
Our campaign was anchored by three key objectives:
Elevate holistic understanding of AstraZeneca’s purpose, science and people.
Build trust and credibility, demonstrating AstraZeneca’s unwavering patient focus.
Drive engagement with campaign content and broader AstraZeneca communications.
Our strategy was centered on a core cultural tension. Science is rational – governed by data, logic and evidence. But for most people, science only becomes real when it becomes personal. A breakthrough that touches their child, their parent, their own body, or their daily life, changes something. When people feel the impact of science on their lives, they can’t deny it – and they trust the organizations behind it.
Human storytelling remains the foundation of our campaign, with content that highlights the meaningful impact we’re having on communities nationwide.
This year, we introduced two new marquee films:
Alex, follows a man who, because his lung cancer was caught early, continues to greet the world at sunrise, surfboard in hand, paddling the waves that fuel his spirit. Because of science, Alex sees early in a whole new light.
Grace, once a devoted banjo player, has now stepped back from the music she loves as she lives with hereditary amyloidosis (hATTR). Now, she finds joy in watching her family carry on the rhythm she started. Because of science, Grace can share the legacy she chooses.
The films were promoted through paid and organic social content and a partnership with New York Times, including ads on the NYT website, print magazine and within their headquarters as part of the Climate Forward event in September.
To make science even more personal, we introduced a new content series, ‘Thank You, Science’ – a tribute to the strength of the human spirit and the breakthroughs that power a world of hope for patients and families. In this series, we share the journeys of people living with serious conditions and the science that gave them back strength, clarity and time. These stories are reminders that science isn’t just about progress in the lab, it’s about real impact on people’s lives.
Science took the center stage in the heart of our nation’s capital. We transformed DC’s Union Station, one of America’s busiest transit hubs for policy influencers en route to the Hill, into a canvas for storytelling. As a part of AstraZeneca’s historic $50 billion investment in the U.S., we used this location to embody our commitment “For the Health of America”. We juxtaposed this macro message with the personal stories of Alex and Grace, spanning nearly 50 placements across three floors of this historic landmark.
We’ve even seen an overall lift in trust from our priority audiences, a key metric to measure attitudes toward AstraZeneca, with Policy Influencer trust increasing by 25 points and Engaged Patients trust increasing by 18 points. To date, we’ve seen:
In total, this year’s campaign has seen 9.1M+ video views, 234M+ impressions, 3.1K+ engagements, and 166.6K+ clicks.
Strong Website Performance: The What science can do website has generated 4.3K+ site visits, with an increase of 3x the number of visits from October to December, and users are spending an impressive average of 3:42 time on site. Users from organic social are generating a high time on site (4:28) along with users from paid (2:15).
Content That Captures Attention: Our emotional storytelling breaks through with audiences and has generated 52.4M+ impressions and 9M+ video views across all channels (paid social, ‘The Hill’ online banners, organic social), and these numbers continue to grow!
High-Impact Media Partnership: An evolved partnership with The New York Times brought our campaign assets to new heights with a full-page ad in NYT Magazine with 607K+ print circulation impressions and a combined 23M+ impressions from other NYT activations including newsletters takeovers, podcast integration, and additional digital assets across their channels.
Show-Stopping Out-Of-Home Activation: The Union Station Takeover, including digital assets and print assets placed throughout the station, resulted in 158M+ impressions, exceeding projections by 351%.
